Application of Epidemiological Methods

Assignment 2 – Research study proposal

In this assignment you will describe the application of epidemiological methods in either a clinical or policy setting. You will prepare a study proposal in stages and submit work throughout the semester for feedback.

For this assignment you will design a study to determine the incidence or prevalence of one
of the following:
» Degenerative joint disease in large dogs
» Leptospirosis in dairy cattle
» Inflammatory airway disease in Thoroughbred racehorses
» Rabies in free-roaming dogsIf you want to consider another question you must negotiate this with Naomi Cogger

The study should cost less than $500,000 and it should be feasible to complete it in a maximum of two years.

Assignment 2 – Part A (due 11 Apr)

Word limit: 1000 words

File size limit: 2 MB

Part A

For Part A of this assignment you are required to submit a draft proposal (word limit 1500 words) to Stream. The study proposal you submit needs to include details under the following headings:» Project title» Background» Study type and description of study population in terms of time and place» Description of how disease status will be determined.

Assignment 2 – Part B (due 16 May)

Word limit: 1100 words

File size limit: 2 MB

Part BFor Part B of this assignment you need to add details for how you propose to perform subject selection alongside sample size calculations to your proposal. The word limit for this part is 1100 words.

Assignment 2 – Part C (due 20 Jun)

Word limit: 2500 words

Contribution to final grade: 50%

File size limit: 5 MB

This is the final part of this assignment. Remember the study should cost less than $500,000 and it should be feasible to complete it in a maximum of two years.

The final version of this assignment must include: a title, summary, description of study subjects, sample size calculations and method for determining disease status.

Assignment 1 (due 6 Jun)

Contribution to final grade: 35%

Task:

On your Stream class website you will find a list of journal articles. You need to select ONE which will be for detailed discussion and this assignment. While working through the paper the tutor will promote you to look more closely at various aspects of the study design and share your findings with your peers.

At the completion of the course you will complete a critical evaluation using the critical appraisal worksheet provided in the following section. You will find an electronic version of this for filling in below.

Marking:

Five (5) marks will be awarded for each of the sections described below.

Description of the evidence

Description of methods used to measure outcome and identification of potential issues in the measurement of the outcome variable.

Description of methods used to measure the study factor(s) and identification of potential issues in the measurement of these factors.

Identification of method used to select study subjects and discussion of implications to internal and external validity.

Identification of potential confounders, description of the method used to control for those confounders and description of the limitations of the method.